To promote consumer choice and wireless competition by
permitting consumers to unlock mobile wireless devices, and for other
purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act.

2.

Repeal of existing rule and additional rulemaking by Librarian of Congress

(a)

Repeal and replace

As of the date of the enactment of this Act, paragraph (3) of section 201.40(b) of title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, as amended and revised by the Librarian of Congress on
October 28, 2012, pursuant to the Librarian’s authority under section 1201(a) of title 17, United States Code, shall have no force and effect, and such paragraph shall read,
and shall be in effect, as such paragraph was in effect on July 27, 2010.

(b)

Rulemaking

The Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, who shall consult
with the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the
Department of Commerce and report and comment on his or her views in
making such recommendation, shall determine, consistent with the
requirements set forth under section 1201(a)(1) of title 17, United States Code, whether to extend the exemption for the class of works described
in section 201.40(b)(3) of title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, as amended by subsection (a), to include any other
category of wireless devices in addition to wireless telephone handsets.
The determination shall be made in the first rulemaking under section
1201(a)(1)(C) of title 17, United States Code, that begins on or after the
date of enactment of this Act.

(c)

Unlocking at direction of owner

Circumvention of a technological measure that restricts wireless telephone handsets or other
wireless devices from connecting to a wireless telecommunications network—

(1)(A)

as authorized by paragraph (3) of section 201.40(b) of title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, as made effective by subsection (a); and

(B)

as may be extended to other wireless devices pursuant to a determination in the rulemaking
conducted under subsection (b); or

may be initiated by the owner of any such handset or other device, by another person at the
direction of the owner, or by a provider of a commercial mobile radio
service or a commercial mobile data service at the direction of such owner
or other person, solely in order to enable such owner or a family member
of such owner to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when
such connection is authorized by the operator of such network.(d)

Rule of construction

(1)

In general

Except as expressly provided herein, nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter the scope of
any party's rights under existing law.

The terms commercial mobile data service and commercial mobile radio service have the respective meanings given those terms in section 20.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2)

Wireless telecommunications network

The term wireless telecommunications network means a network used to provide a commercial mobile radio service or a commercial mobile data
service.

(3)

Wireless telephone handsets; wireless devices

The terms wireless telephone handset and wireless device mean a handset or other device that operates on a wireless telecommunications network.

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